Material handling equipment



Aug. 25, 1931.

2 sneets sneet 1 Filed Jan. 19, 1929 o o o o o o o o o o wag M. R. BUTLER MATERIAL HANDLING EQUIPMEN'.

} Aug. 25, 193i.

Filed Jan. 19. 1929 2 Sheets-Shea 2 I Outlet, and which is'positively heldin open maintaining the common control for both Patented 1931 r :ft v j t a UN T D STATES optmg," V a I 'ivxoneAlv BUTLER' OlI i "i I I Application filed 1mm 19, 19 29.; seriai I la/333,680. V This invention relates to certain newiand' ed claims, itgbeing' understoodfthat, such useful improvements inmateri'alf handling changes in: theprecise embodiment of the deyices and refers moreparticularly to measherein disclosedimvention' may be made as uring hoppers and their discharge gates. "come Within thescope of the claims.

The gates of such hoppers areusually held I 1 In theaccompa'nying "drawingsfl have ili5 in closed position by a suitable latch mechlustrated two complete exar'nplesofthe,phys-' anism so that when the'latchvis tripped the i cal 'e'mbodimentof m'y invfention constructed Weight of the'lnaterial within the-hopper according to'thebestmodesjl have so :far

p opens the gate and heretofore it has been cusdevised for the practical application of the c, tomaryto manuallyreturn the gate to closed principles thereof, and in which: j I 60 position by means of a pulleyand cable; Figurel is an elevational'view of a pair This method has numerous objections and of'measuring hoppers embodying my inven therefore, it is an'object of this invention to tion and illustrating a portion offthe bin I provide means associated with a hopper of from which they are supported;.' 1 I a l: the character described whereby its discharge Figure 2 is aperspective view of the gate gate is openedandclosed bygravity. I structures ,7 and their associated latch and Another object of this invention resides in latch release mechanism; x I i the provision of a hopper of the character Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 il 5 described having a gate'structure closing its l s l' ng a l gh y myodiified mann r of V n or closed position by. a releasable latch. g e S ruC-turesin neutralposi i l Another objector this invention resides in Referring now more particularly to" the the provision of a hopper ofthe character accompanying drawings in whichlike nudescribed having a pivoted gate structure In ral d sign li e par sthr ughdut the closing its discharge opening,"whichis atiall several views, 5. represents:abinwhich is 75 times urged to closed position by gravity, dividedfinto compartments 6 and 7byra par-z and which is positively held in open position t-ition 8, the compartments discharging their bya suitable latch, which when trippedaiter respective contents through chutes 9 :northe discharge oimaterial permits the return many closed by gates l0,' hecon1partment 6 c i of the gate structure to closed position. having two discharge chutes and the COIIF 3 And a still further object of this inven of a single pl te, d aremounted directly,

1 45 With th above d oth r objects in view ions of the hoppers converge and terminate A further object of this invention resides partment 7 one. Y The bin 5 is suitably su-pf-i in the provision of a device of the character p rted from a fabricated framework'yaporr described having a pair-of hoppers, each tic of which is illustrated, as at 11, sufliequipped with a hinged gate structure mov-' ;ie y hig o pe m tr O 'JY h QE 3 able to and from closed position by gravity, to, beodrlven eneath measuring rhoppers l2-fi the movements of which are controlled from l 3 lPP rted from, the bin, by r0ds'14- acommon control which permits the opening er-t e k 5 p l or closing, ofone gate structure without efe ppers; re r gid y c nnected to orm .Vfecting the other. aiunitary structure'by' forming their sides tion resides "in the provision of'means for beneath. the discharge jchutes 9, being aryieldably maintaining the common control r g S0 h f pp r z' S e al for the gate structuresof thepair'of hoppers f m e bln compartment 6, and th ppe 13 from the compartment 7. The lower porin neutral position.

' which willappear as the description proin utletopenifigs, each of which 'isadapted;

ceeds, my invention residesin the novel conto be closed by a gate structure 16, and as the struction, combination and arrangement of cellstfueiloil' t g e is identical e parts substantially as hereinafter described descr-iption'of one Wlll suifice for'both. s 100,

- 50 nd more particularlyvdefineclby the append- Eachgate structure 16 consists oa gate proper 17 of a size to cover the entire outlet opening of its respective hopper, and which is secured, by welding or any other suitable manner, to a pair of spaced bars 18 which extend outwardly thereof to hingedly mount the structure, as at 19, from supporting mem-. bers 20, welded or otherwise fixed, to the adjacent wall of the respective hopper. The outer ends of the spaced bars 18 have a weight 21 fixed thereto and are further connected at their extreme outer ends by an inverted U shaped member 22, the lower ends of whose arms are cut off at an angle and connected by a plate 23 which is welded or otherwise fixed thereto. The weight 21 is sufiicient to maintain the gate structure closed when its hop er is empty, and to prevent the opening of t ie gate when the hopper is filled with material a latch 24 is provided.

The latch 24 is pivotally mounted at its upper'end as at 25 between a pair of angle plates 26 secured to the adjacent wall of the hopper. The inner edge of the latch is cut away at itsouter free end to provide a stop 27 which engages the U shaped member 22 when the gate structure is in closed position and secures the same in said position, the latch 24 being moved to active position by gravity. When it is desired to open the gate, the latch 24 is moved out of engagement with the member 22 by means of a latch release lever 28 fixed to a transverse shaft 29, see Figure 2, and connected at its outer free end with the latch 24 by means of a chain 30 or the like.

The transverse shaft 29 is journaled in bearings 31 suitably carried by bracket members 32 fixed to the adjacent portionof the hopper and has one end extended and directed upwardly to provide a control lever 33. Thus it will be seen that as the shaft 29 is turned by means of its lever 33 the latch 24 may be moved out of engagement with the U shaped member 22 to permit the gate to be opened by the weight of the material with in the hopper.

As the gate moves to its full open position illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 1, the plate 23 connecting the lower ends of the arms of the inverted U shaped member 22 is aligned with a second stop 34 formed on the latch member at a point spaced inwardly from the stop 27,'which, by reason of the fact that the latch is at all times urged by gravity toward the gate structure, engages the plate 23, as illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 1, to. secure the gate structure in open position, the lever 33 having been released to permit said movement of the latch 24. The gate structure is thus maintained in its open position until the lever 33 is again actuated to trip the latch 24 releasing the gate, and per: mitting it to be moved by its weight 21 to closed position where it is again locked by the action of the latch 24 in the manner hereinbefore described.

The control of both gates is simplified by connecting the levers 33 thereof by means of a chain 35, so that movement of either lever 33 in one direction trips one latch, and movement of the same lever in an opposite direction trips the other latch. To insure the levers 35, and consequently the latch release, levers 28 maintaining a neutral position when not in use, and to maintain the chain taut, balanced weights 36 are extended outwardly from the levers 33.

It is to be understood that a suitable platform (not shown) is provided for the operator, which is carried by the supporting structure of the bin and is so positioned as to permit ready access to the control levers 33 and to the controls 37 of the several bin gates 10.

Figure 3 illustrates a slightly modified manner of connecting or interlocking the levers 33 of the two latch release devices, which consists of a bar or red 38 slidably mounted in plates 39, adapted to be fixed to the hoppers, and whose out-turned ends 40 engage opposite sides of the levers 33, the levers 33 being maintained in engagement with the ends 40 by the weight of their release levers 28. A handle 41 is provided for actuating the bar 38 and contractile springs 42 having one end fixed to the bar, as at 43, and having their other ends fixed to clips 44 suitably secured to the walls of the hoppers provide means for yieldably maintaining the bar 38 in a neutral position.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which an invention of thecharacter described appertains that I provide a novel gate structure for hoppers of the character described in which the gate is actuated to and from closed position by gravity, is positively held in open position, and in. which the movements of different gate structures may be independently con trolled from a common means.

lVhat I claim as my invention is:

1. The combination with a material handling hopper having an outlet opening adapted to be closed by a gate structure movable to and from closed position, of means tending at all times to close the gate structure, and a single means mounted from a substantially fixed structure engageable with the gate structure for holding the same in either closed or open position.

2. The combination with a material handling hopper having an outlet opening adapted to be closed by a gate movable from closed position by the weight of the material, gravity actuated means for returning the gate to closed position, and a single readily releasable means mounted from a substantially fined structure for holding the gatein either position. I Y r 3. In a device of the character described, including a material handling hopper having an outlet opening adapted to be closed by a gate structure movable to and from closed position, means at all times tending to move the gate structure to closed position,

a latch member mounted from-a substantially fixed structure and engageable with the gate structure for holding it in either closed or open position, and means for disengaging the latch member from the gatestructureto release the same for movement from either position, said release of the gate structure when in closed position permitting the weight I of the material to move it to its open position and when in open position permitting said first-mentionedmeans to move the gate structure to closed position. I I

l. In a device, of the character described,

including material handling hoppers having outlet openings, gate structures adapted to.

close said openings and movable to and from closed position by gravity, means controlling the movement of said gate structures whereby movement of said means in one direction effects the opening or closing of one gate structure and movement in the opposite direction effects the opening or closing of another gate structure.

5. In a devlce of the character described,

including material handling hoppers havingoutlet openings, gate structures'adapted to close said openings and movable to and from closed position, means at all times tending to move the gate structures to closed position, latch members engageable with the gate structures for holding them in either closed or open position, and common means for releasing said latch members independentof each other, the release of a latch member when its respective gate structure is in closed position permltting the welght of material thereabove to move 1t to its open position and when in open position permitting its said first mentioned means to move the gate structure to closed position.

'6. In a device of the character described;

including material handling hoppers having outlet'openings, gate structures adapted to close said openings and movable to and from closed position by gravity, latches for holding the gate structures in either closed or open position, latch release means for each gate structure, means interlocking the latch release means, and means connecting each latch release means with its respective latch whereby one latch may be released upon actuation of theinterlocked latch release means without effecting any other latch.

' 7. In a device of the character described including material handllng hoppers having outlet openings, gate structures adaptedto close saidopenings and movable to and from I closed position by gravity, latches for-holding the gate structures in either closed or open positionfn'ifeansior' releasing each latch,

means connecting said latch release means,

nectedlatch tion. v

- 8. The combination with; material idling hopper having an outlet opening adaptedto be close'dby a gate structure movableto andfromclosed p'osition,lofa single latch member mounted OIl6 Sldp0f the gate structure-and en-gageable with a portion of the gate structure in either'of its positionsto readilyreleasably hold the'same in either position, and'said latch member being read-j ily-disengagedfrom thelock structure to free .the same' from either'position.

9. The combination with a-materiahhandling hopper having an outlet openingladapted to be closed by. a gate structure movable to and from closedpositiomof a latch 1 the gate structure to closed-position, and a] latch member engageable with the gate struc-- ture in either closed or open position to readily releasably hold the gate structure ineither position. I y i 11. The combination with a material handlinghopper having an outlet opening adapted to beclosed by a gate structure movablefrom closed position by the weight ofthe ma terial, of gravityactuatedmean's for return ing the gate structureto closed position, va-

latch member maintained in operative posia tion by gravity, and "spaced abutments' carried by the latch member, one of which is en-' position, whereby the latch member releasgageable with the gateflstructure when in closed position and the other when in open 1 i 15 ably holds'the gate structure in either of its positions.

12. The cotta es with a material handling hopper havingan outletopening, of af gate structure for closing the opening, means pivotally mounting the gate structure, a pivs oted latch'melnber, an abutment carried by the latch member and engaging the gate structure to hold the same in closed position, said latch member being releasably main tained in operative position by gravity, re-, lease of the latch member freeing the gate structure for'movement to open position by the weight of the material, a second abutment carried by thelatch member engageable with v and' meansnormally maintaining the con Z release meansimneutral posithe gate structure when in open position to releasably maintain the same in said position, and gravity actuated means for returning the gate structure to closed position after the 5 material has been discharged from the hopper and upon a second release of the latch member.

13. In a device of the character described including material handling hoppers having p) outlet openings, gate structures adapted to close said openings and movable to and from closed position by gravity, a latch member for each gate structure engageable with its respective gate structure to releasably hold it in 15 either open or closed position, common means for effecting the release of the latch members, and means whereby either latch member may be released independently of the other upon actuation of said common means. 20 In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

MORGAN R. BUTLER. 

